I bought the original Division three years back when it came out but only finished it last week after not having played it for probably 1.5y. I played this on a PS4 and therefore decided to play the second one on the PS4, too. I mainly play solo but in the beginning, played several times with some people here from OO and really enjoyed it. I'm playing the open beta since it came out and here are my thoughts:

The graphics look very good on my PS4 Pro and they are certainly improved over the first one. Really like the dark nights and the weather effects are pretty nice. I'm still not crazy about the location (D.C.) - I spent quite some time in NY over the years and the NY in the first one immediately felt familiar and I think they nailed the city look and the mood they wanted to create. I have not spent much time in D.C. on the other hand and while the city is way more detailed (and more true to the real city), I simply do not recognize the locations and it, therefore, feels more generic to me. But, over the course of playing the beta, I came to appreciate the different types of environment much more and while NY felt very samey, D.C. has a broader range (and we have not seen any of the new biomes yet). What I really like is that there seems to be much more to explore. In the first one, you had these little resource areas but other than that, there was no reason to enter any back alleys or building (not that there were many to explore anyways). Here, I'm on a constant lookout for locales to explore and that's fun (for me).

I actually like the new menu system way less than the original (but may be more used to the old one). The weapon modding screen is horrible, I still don't fully understand the "list all weapon mods" function, for example - why would I want to see all mods that do not fit the weapon I'm looking at?).

The fighting feels very good. I'm sorely missing the "pulse" skill, as it would show me the bad guys and being rushed a lot is challenging (I really like long-range weapons but now I have to counter-balance that with a shotgun to fend off rushers). The missions are a mixed bag - the locations look fantastic but the missions feel a bit too "get into a room, find cover, fend off attackers, move to next trigger spot etc."

The "falling" animation is weird, my character gets into this weird floating stage, which feels way too slow.

So I played this over the weekend on the PS4. I got the "agent requesting backup" thing while I was in the middle of the Grand Washington Hotel mission. Is there a way to respond to the request for backup, preferably by being able to "teleport" close to where the backup is requested? Otherwise if I have to manually get there I don't see how it is possible after I've taken the elevator up. It doesn't seem like that mission lets you take the elevators back down.

You do "teleport" to the location of the help request. I'm using an X360 controller and when I hear the help request, down on the bottom left of my screen is a little thing that shows my "back" button (the one to the left of the Xbox button) and the text "Respond to Request". I press and hold that button till the little ring around it lights up, then I release and press it momentarily again which brings up my map. There will be a "!" symbol in orange on the map showing the location of the requestor. I put my cursor over that and then, per another instruction on the bottom left, press and hold the up arrow on the D-ring. That teleports me to the location of the requestor and teams me up with them.

This may sound a bit complicated but once you do it a few times it is pretty quick. The trick is to be sure that the requestor is someplace that sounds like they really would need help. I've had people call from the White House which was kind of a waste of my time.

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

, but how close is the interior decoration compared to the real thing? Especially the text on the walls?

It's been about 10 years since I was there, but what I remember of the layout seemed close, but scaled down slightly, but I don't think the exhibits and decorations were 100% accurate. A lot could have changed since I saw it though.

One of the buildings I have a better memory of is Union Station, and it's accessible in the northern portion of the dark zone. The layout was pretty much spot on when my friend and I went there, but it all felt about 25% smaller and the individual stores were different. For example a restaurant my wife and I ate at was there, but it was an Italian restaurant in the game, and a Chinese restaurant in real life.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

I played a bit more this evening, just to try out new weapon combinations so I could be more comfortable without my M-60

Also I tried different skills... I hate calling them "skills". They are all gadgets. Anyway, I tried the gun that shoots a canister of flammable liquid that can be ignited, but it runs into the same problem I have the seeker grenade, I'm not shooting while I'm using it. I much prefer the turret and the repair drone, both are autonomous, leaving me to bang away with my weapons. Heck, I hardly even touch my grenades, I just want to be shooting or reloading. Maybe when the full game comes out I'll be able to try out other stuff and see what's cooking.

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

Also played some more and found some great (blue) weapons that really fit my playing style, will be sad to lose all this tomorrow ...

Did some free-roaming during a heavy thunderstorm at night and it was absolutely amazing (I'm playing on PS4 Pro with a large 4K TV that supports HDR and surround headphone). The sound in this game is awesome, I really like that you can hear firefights going on at quite the distance. I generally like the more lively feeling so far with friendlies being in (or joining) firefights. This is now a definitive purchase for me ...

I played a bit more this evening, just to try out new weapon combinations so I could be more comfortable without my M-60

Also I tried different skills... I hate calling them "skills". They are all gadgets. Anyway, I tried the gun that shoots a canister of flammable liquid that can be ignited, but it runs into the same problem I have the seeker grenade, I'm not shooting while I'm using it. I much prefer the turret and the repair drone, both are autonomous, leaving me to bang away with my weapons. Heck, I hardly even touch my grenades, I just want to be shooting or reloading. Maybe when the full game comes out I'll be able to try out other stuff and see what's cooking.

In the first game, I solely used the turret and the pulse. Since the pulse is not available in the demo, I'm tried the drone and the seeker (airburst) mines. Both have the problem you describe, I find them basically impossible to use once the fighting starts, as employing them is too fiddly. The turret is key if you solo, I think, as a crowd control tool (I basically throw it to cover one enemy approach/flank). The airborne mines are fun to open a fight and to disorient groups of enemies and I did not like the drone at all (but need to try again). I find myself throwing the (frag) grenades quite often (more than in the first game), they seem pretty powerful and are good to kill enemies behind cover or rush them out.
I found an M-60 in this game but barely use it, unless you stabilize it, it's too inaccurate for me (I'm using a blue carabine a lot that basically kills everything with one headshot or two shots to center mass and I also found a great blue .45 rifle (semi-automatic), which is very powerful).

Ive not noticed......if you are not spotted and throw a grenade from cover do all the enemies know instantly where you are?

From the limited time I've played, they seem to know the general direction it came from.

I experimented a little bit with the enemies direction finding. It seems in the beta that when I go into cover, shoot at enemies, then waiting for them to shoot back/duck down to reload before moving to new cover, that they "know" I'm in the new location and start shooting me there. I recall in the first Division that I could clearly see them firing at my last known location and they only update my new location when I start shooting from there.

This time it seem the enemies always know where I am. Has anyone else noticed this?

Also, regarding the skill/gadgets - it seems that the gadget which requires you to fire a flammable liquid or riot gel makes you pop out of cover when you want to do precise aiming. I distinctly remember my armor being plinked down when I was trying to aim my skill shot. Not so with the grenades. With the grenades you can move the aiming point until you get the right spot, and only when you press the "throw" button will it pop you out of cover.

They need to fix that. Otherwise I don't think I'll ever use a gadget that exposes me.

Today’s State of the Game #111 has revealed more information about The Division 2’s endgame content, how players will progress in World Tiers, what Strongholds and Bounties are and what the mysterious Deck of 52 is all about.

Upon reaching maximum character level 30 and with the completion of the main campaign and successful infiltration of a handful of Strongholds, the narrative focuses towards a final Stronghold that needs to be taken over before the first World Tier (1) gets unlocked and the first out of three Specializations can be selected.

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

I've pre-ordered the Gold edition so I can start playing early, as I have to be out of town on Friday and Saturday next week. I got my free copy of Far Cry Primal which I will probably get around to playing sometime, although it hasn't been high on my interest list. Still, a free game is a free game.

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

I was looking at this, and I was sort of tempted by the free game (Watch Dogs 2, have FCPrimal and not interested in GR). Except today I saw WD2 gold is $20 on the Ubi store. So I got that instead. I expect I'll pick up Div2 once it's been out for a while and they have some game+ sale.

Bounties are the new and improved iteration of the High Value Target system that was available in The Division. At their core, bounties put a price on the heads of enemy bosses to reward Agents for eliminating hostile threats to the city. Washington, D.C. is anything but safe, and it is the responsibility of Division Agents to keep these ringleaders off the streets.

A new addition to the system is that, in addition to hand-crafted bounties, many bounties are procedurally generated. These bosses have been busy building their own agenda, which includes eliminating Division Agents like yourself. As a result, they may also have access to SHD Tech and all the abilities that come alongside it. As an example, a Hyena boss may utilize armor kits or Striker Drones in combat. Each side mission and locations all over Washington D.C have been designed to support exciting battles with a variety of enemies. Each time a player chooses to track a boss, that boss selects a location fitting to the abilities of the squad that accompanies them.

and....

Projects take the Assignments system from The Division and rework them into a feature that emphasizes the dynamic nature of the open world. Earned early on in the leveling experience, Projects are calls-to-action by Settlement Leaders and the Division Coordinator as you explore D.C. The settlements have needs and goals they cannot meet without your help, and they will definitely make it worth your while! There are a variety of Projects available in The Division 2:

Settlement—During the campaign, settlement projects will demand water, food, components, and gear donations to make Settlements more efficient and secure. In End-game, Daily/Weekly Settlement Projects reflect their rising ambition. Outfit strike teams to flush out enemy factions, clear named zones of enemies, or even spread good cheer by emoting with other players!

Safe House—these Named Zone Liberation Projects continue the activities of the Agents who came before you. Capture and resupply control points, disrupt hostile activities, and locate hidden SHD caches in order to flush out the faction leaders hiding in the zone.

End-Game Priority Missions—Daily Projects that require the completion of Hard and Challenging missions.

I'm glad to see this stuff, since I seem to be losing interest in business and building games. I've decided not to pick up the release version of Production Line at the present time. It just looks too much like work. And I've decided against getting Tropico 6, it just looks like too much of the same. And I just don't have that much patience anymore...

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

The Epic Game Store pre-load is showing a 56.4GB download. I guess they're not big on data compression.

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

The Epic Game Store pre-load is showing a 56.4GB download. I guess they're not big on data compression.

My experience with Uplay is that when a game is unlocked it then is decompressed before you can play it. It might just be that the Epic Store version is already decompressed so you can play right away. By the way, do you play through the Uplay launcher, or the Epic launcher?

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

The Epic Game Store pre-load is showing a 56.4GB download. I guess they're not big on data compression.

My experience with Uplay is that when a game is unlocked it then is decompressed before you can play it. It might just be that the Epic Store version is already decompressed so you can play right away. By the way, do you play through the Uplay launcher, or the Epic launcher?

The download appears to be primarily a set of 27 .upc Uplay installer files (each but the last of the series is about 2G in size), so it will still need to be unpacked into a proper installation once the game unlocks.

This is the first game I've purchased from Epic, so I don't know whether I will be able to run it directly from Uplay, or if it will be like Steam where I'd need to have both the Epic launcher and Uplay running. I would have purchased it directly from Uplay, but the Uplay client glitched out and wouldn't complete the order for me, so I decided to throw some business at Epic (which seems fair, considering all the free games they're giving me this year).

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

I purchased through Green Man Gaming, which is my go to store nowadays since they usual have some discount. I was a bit disappointed to see that after I bought at 10% off a few days ago the Gold Edition is now 14% off on GMG. I don't blame them, they are a business and maybe pre-sales weren't as good. But I could have waited a few more days. Anyway, it was only a few bucks so not a big deal.

Just for folks who haven't bought a Ubisoft game lately through Green Man Gaming, they now have a protocol* set up so that instead of getting a key from GMG and redeeming it through Uplay, you click an unlock on your GMG account page that automatically connects to Uplay and tells them you bought the game. I've done it a few times and it has worked flawlessly for me.

I'm always sorry to hear about folks who have problems with the Uplay client. I've always had good luck with it, but then I'm still running Win7 and maybe that helps.

*protocol - typing that reminded me of the TV series 24 where I swear the word had to appear at least a half dozen times every episode. I miss that show

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

I've never had any issues with Uplay when it comes to playing games. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong when I tried to pre-purchase the game. Either something was broken, or they made the process sufficiently confusing that I was clicking on the wrong thing. Either way, now Epic is hypothetically getting a slice of the action (assuming that whatever deal they cut with Ubisoft to get the exclusive doesn't nullify any income from the purchase).

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

Heh, anyone else got this game on the PC? I haven't seen my 1.5 title update yet and when I mentioned that on the Ubi forums a Ubisoft rep said I should open a trouble ticket. Have other folks seen the 1.5 title update, about 2 GB, today?

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

Heh, anyone else got this game on the PC? I haven't seen my 1.5 title update yet and when I mentioned that on the Ubi forums a Ubisoft rep said I should open a trouble ticket. Have other folks seen the 1.5 title update, about 2 GB, today?

Nothing on the Epic side. I'm not expecting to see it until the game unlocks (1AM EST) and is actually unpacked and installed.

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

Heh, anyone else got this game on the PC? I haven't seen my 1.5 title update yet and when I mentioned that on the Ubi forums a Ubisoft rep said I should open a trouble ticket. Have other folks seen the 1.5 title update, about 2 GB, today?

Nothing on the Epic side. I'm not expecting to see it until the game unlocks (1AM EST) and is actually unpacked and installed.

That's probably going to be my situation too. I opened a trouble ticket like the Ubi rep suggested, but I figure by the time they get to it I'll either be playing the game or will be waiting for a delayed update. I'll cancel the trouble ticket of course if I can play.

Mind you, 1am EDT is pushing it past my bedtime, but the suspense will keep me awake . With all my excitement over the release of the game I'm reminded of the old proverb "Man plans, God laughs". I can't decide if it's going to be a power outage, the internet going down or my carpal tunnel kicking it

Do you actually play through the Epic Store interface? Or does it just redirect to the Uplay client?

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

When I preloaded the game, it created a desktop icon that references the Epic launcher, so I'm guessing that I'll need to have both the Epic launcher and Uplay running in order to run the game (which is how the Ubisoft games I've purchased on Steam work -- if I try to run those games directly from Uplay, they still get launched by Steam).

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

I just finished running the installer, and the first thing that happened after hitting "Play" was that it checked for patches and downloaded something that weighed in at a little more than 1 Gb.

I was expecting the Epic launcher to automatically complete the installation, but I had to manually start it from the desktop icon that was created when I did the preload. I wonder if I could have done that step as soon as I finished the download...

Now that it is installed and patched, I shut down the Epic launcher and was able to launch the game directly from Uplay, so it looks like there is no dependence on the Epic launcher going forward.

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

So the game went live for me just a little after one am and didn't need to do any updating, just did the DirectX stuff and off we went. I played for three hours and had a lot of fun. Of course this is the fourth time I've started it, but the opening was different before you came up the south lawn of the White House. And now that I have a better understanding of what I'm doing it was less about head scratching and more about playing. When I reached the Grand Hotel mission I did some matchmaking right there at the edge of the mission space and got three gangbuster supporter and we mowed right through them. I later joined some other folks in a couple of missions. I hadn't unlocked one of them so I got no credit, but the other was unlocked and even though I dropped in part way through I was able to get a completion on it.

I did have something weird happen. I took over a control point with the help of another player and the locals. I gave them a bunch of supplies then went off to respond to a call for help. When about fifteen minutes later I checked the map the control point had been taken back over by the bad guys! Very annoying. Next time I'll hang around for a while and make sure they are on their feet.

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

No, I'll be on a trip Friday and Saturday. I might be back playing Saturday night or Sunday, but it is unsure at this point.

I played some more this morning. I'm not really pushing progression on the main stories yet, I'm wandering around a lot. I went to the very north end of the White House region and found a control point plus lots and lots of cool places to explore. I'm facing the same challenge as in the first game, I keep ending up with way too much stuff in my inventory I want to keep. I have to make some hard choices

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

It's all crap until you are 30. A gun for close work and a gun for ranged work and the best gear you have for the slot. Anything else is only useful for parts or projects. It takes about 3 levels for whatever you have to be useless, why save it?

It's all crap until you are 30. A gun for close work and a gun for ranged work and the best gear you have for the slot. Anything else is only useful for parts or projects. It takes about 3 levels for whatever you have to be useless, why save it?

Well, some of the gear helps skill reload time and so I'm trying to stack those. Still it's not always obvious which gear is the best in a slot. It does add for some nice variety.

I really like how the open world map has so much detail packed into such a small area as I've seen so far. It makes exploring worthwhile. It was one of the negatives for me in AC Odyssey, it was a big map but so many places looked the same.

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez

It's a nice little touch that the open world map is designed so that it looks a lot like a map of the United States when you zoom all the way out.

Time and tide melt the snowman.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.
-- The Doctor

Before we go, here are some tips for the game that you should probably keep in mind as you play.

When wandering around the desolate streets of Washington D.C., keep a lookout for any crates and suitcases on the beaten track. They’ll contain either new equipment that can be sold/scrapped, or materials that you can turn into Project Desks.

Grenades are your best friend in this game. The area of effect on your HUD for throwing grenades will be orange if it doesn’t hit anything, but red if it does. Enemies affected will also be highlighted.

If the group is small and close-knit, try to just lob a grenade or send a Seeker Mine out there. The enemies won’t be alerted until it’s too late and you can avoid a prolonged shootout.

Switch gear often. Even if you like a particular weapon, it may become vastly inferior to newer stuff rather quickly. Some gear, particularly exotic items, can be upgraded at Crafting stations, but white/green rarity is not worth keeping.

Use your skills as much as you can. It can be easy to be fearful of using them thanks to some sizeable cooldowns, but you technically have unlimited use of them outside of that.

Use skills that suit your play style. If there’s a skill that makes getting up close with a shotgun easier, use that. If you want to play a support role, use any skills that heal allies.

Unlock Safehouses to reveal the locations for each of the SHC tech caches in that area.
You can click on any mission, side objective, or tech cache to bring up a waypoint on your HUD. It’s the orange line that appears and following it will bring you to your destination.

Once you take over a Control Point, make sure you go to the Supply Room each one has. It’s got a lot of valuable loot inside.

You’ll occasionally pick up Field Proficiency Cache. Make sure you open these as often as you can.

Double tap the cover button to dodge roll.

Projects in Settlements unlock blueprints, which will need to be crafted separately. Once you’ve completed the crafting project, head back to the White House crafting station to make the item before immediately taking on another project.

Weapons and armour that are crafted will be made to your crafting level, which is based on your Agent level.

Mods once created are a universal item that’s available for use across all available weapons.

"A plan is a list of things that go wrong. I like to keep my lists short. Just be ready." - Rico Rodriguez